On the morning of January 28, rowers from the Jesuit crew team groggily approached the Terry Center at five o’ clock in the morning to practice rowing, also known as erging, on the ergometer in order to prepare for their upcoming regatta, S.W.E.A.T., which is held here in Dallas at Jesuit. S.W.E.A.T. stands for Southwest Ergometer Amateur Tournament and is a point of pride for the team, since it is their only home event for the crew season.
Having hosted the event for seven years now, Jesuit welcomed rowers of all ages to compete on the weekend of February 1-2, Jesuit not only served as a great host but also had rowers with impressive success across the board. A regional qualifier for the world championship of indoor rowing, S.W.E.A.T. is filled with teams that have high hopes to advance their rowers.
Fife continued, “This year, we had about over 580 rowers compete from all ages from high school up to one woman who was in her mid-80’s.” Each participant had to row 2000 meters on the ergometer, and if he or she rowed a certain time, the participant could qualify for the world championships in Boston, Massachusetts.
As a result of hard work and perseverance, the Jesuit crew team won the Men’s Championship and finished with 127 points over Tulsa Rowing Club who had 51 points, which is a significant margin of victory. JW Schwab ’14 took home the gold in the junior lightweight division and set a new Jesuit lightweight record by finishing in a swift time of 6:35.2. In addition, Mitchell Opatowsky ’15 took home the silver in the same category.
Coxswains, the people who steer the boat who also normally don’t row, also competed in their own category. Parker Allen ’17
won 1st place over 15 other coxswains, including his teammate Henry Droese ’17, who won 2nd.
Even the freshmen put on a show at the regatta. William Name ’17 took home the silver for the Men’s High School Freshman and also set a Jesuit record. Behind Name, Evan Doran ’17 finished 3rd and Christian LeDoux ’17 finished 4th.
“Every year, S.W.E.A.T. just keeps getting better,” explained Fife. “I’ve been here for three years, and my first year we had about 200 people row. This year we had close to 600 row. It just keeps getting bigger. It just shows how much bigger the sport has gotten, and we were really pleased to put on a first-class event for all the rowers in our region.”
In addition to many excellent rowers, the team was also greeted by the News 8 Daybreak team who wanted to learn more about the ‘erging’ phenomenon and about the S.W.E.A.T. Regatta. News 8 Daybreak featured the team during their practice from 5:20-6:30 in the morning, and the team gained great fame as a result.
“We’ve gotten a lot of publicity from it,” stated Fife, happy he was granted such a great opportunity to take hold of. “It made the video of the day on the biggest rowing website, so a lot of people got to see it.”
Fife would also like to thank Bob Bacic, whose son, John Bacic, graduated in 2011 and who runs S.W.E.A.T. for Jesuit. “Bob has been running it for the last four years and really has done an awesome job,” continued Fife.
After having a phenomenal and record-setting event at home, the Jesuit crew team looks to continue their success in the future. Be sure to catch up with the team as they head down to Austin, Texas for the Heart of Texas in March.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF THE TEAM ON NEWS 8 DAYBREAK HERE:
